yeah, I love this tool. Carbon fiber rims are pretty particular when it comes to tension, so this thing is a must. I've built 100s of wheels over the years- maybe 1000s- and I usually just gauge tension by hand. But when I have to gauge tension, by golly- I do it like the Swiss!
On my way to work on Tuesday, I took a corner pretty fast and as I was turning left, a pickup ran the stop sign a bit within the apex of my turn. I was already trying to get a pedal in because there was a car on my ass and another coming at me in the opposite lane. Pretty much an elixir of death combo. I had to lean in pretty hard to keep from hitting a pothole on my right, which normally wouldn't be a problem since I usually cut the corner tighter. But there was a truck there so I had to go a little wider. As I got in that pedal stroke my inside pedal struck the asphalt and threw my rear end out, but I was able to hang on, which is good because at crash at that place and time would probably not have got well for me.
It was...THE SHITTENING...where pants will do little to keep the evil in!
Had one of those types of close calls on my road bike when I was younger, and did Crits.
It had been raining and I was wondering if it would stop, so I could head out on a training ride.
The rain did stop, so I headed out. By the time I went out, the streets were mostly dry.
I was coming down a hill, passing motor vehicles, and at the bottom of the hill, there was a divider where I could either go straight, or take a turn.
I usually took the turn, but as I was coming downhill, I tried to see if it was dry (in which case, I could take it at speed). If it was still wet, I’d go straight.
It looked dry, so I went for the turn, but after I passed the beginning of the divider (the point of no return), I realized what I thought looked dry, was still wet, shaded by the trees.
I hit the brakes, but the tires started skidding. I was trying to shed as much speed as possible before the turn began, and KNEW that the bus I’d passed, was behind me. I think I hit my brakes 2-3 times, and each time, the tires began skidding. Then I hit the turn.
Tried to take it, but the bike slid out from under me. I slid right into the curb, and knowing that the bus was somewhere behind me, the moment I bounced off the curb, I popped up, grabbed my bike, and jumped onto the curb, just as the bus passed by, horn blaring. I didn’t hear their tires lock up. The bus just roared by, horn blaring. Didn’t slow. Didn’t stop.
If I’d been a moment slower hopping onto the curb, I would’ve been squished.
If I were a cat, 6-8 of those lives have been used up, on the road bike. I don’t have a road bike anymore.
cars are the devil when road cycling, but gotta keep moving!
